The Ministry of External Affairs had said that the invitation was a “reflection of the personal chemistry” between the two leaders and also “recognition of India as a major economic power”.

At a community event, Modi will address Indian Diaspora in Paris. (PTI photo)

Counter-terrorism, radicalization as well space cooperation will be the focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit France later this month. He is going to attend the 45th G7 summit in Biarritz, followed by a bilateral level meeting. Though India is not a member of the G-7 grouping, Modi has been personally invited by the French President Emmanuel Macron and the agenda of the G7 Summit is counter-terrorism and security, which dovetails with India’s concerns.

The Ministry of External Affairs had said that the invitation was a “reflection of the personal chemistry” between the two leaders and also “recognition of India as a major economic power”.

The member countries will be discussing the challenges faced for combating the use of the internet for terrorism and radicalization. The countries which are part of the G7 include the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.

Both Modi and Macron had met at the G-20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, which was their first meeting after the major victory in General Elections after which Modi had taken over as the Prime Minister for the second time.

Since France is a strategic partner of India, the talks between the two leaders would concentrate on further deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries, cybersecurity, space cooperation, military cooperation and enhancing trade and economic ties.

At a community event, Modi will address Indian Diaspora in Paris. Both India and France have worked very closely on counter-terrorism and climate change. In fact, the European nation had played a very critical role in efforts to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee.

In 2015, India and France had jointly launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a when the sun-rich developing nations joined hands to promote the use of solar energy, at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.